Unlawfully Yours (Lawless MC #1)

17

It’s unexpectedly quiet when I come downstairs the next morning. I pad into the living room expecting to find the same annoyingly handsome, leather-clad pain in my ass sprawled out on my sofa like he was yesterday, but the house is empty. There’s no sign of Myles anywhere; his clothes and boots are gone, the pillow and the throw I gave him are stacked in a neatly folded pile on the sofa with a handwritten note on the back of an old envelope placed on top.

My stomach plummets to find him gone, and I’m not entirely sure why that is. I should be relieved. I hadn’t exactly planned out how to face him after what transpired between us just hours ago and I have no doubt it would have been awkward as fuck. Though I have to admit, there was a spark of excitement that ignited low in my belly when I woke up this morning at the thought of him being here.

I shouldn’t be feeling the things I do for him. He’s my enemy. He’s the kind of man I have grown up hating and one I should definitely avoid. It’s men like him that stole my dad away from me. I should be running in the opposite direction, not letting him draw me in as easily as he does.

I still don’t particularly like him, but I can’t deny this insanely magnetic attraction between us. I might not like it or want it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel it. Because feel it, I do .

It feels traitorous to even entertain the thought of us being more than we are, what that is exactly, I have no idea. Are we friends? Not even close. I guess you could call us acquaintances and not much more than that, but no matter what we are to each other, that kiss was something , there’s no denying that.

I can’t help wondering what would have happened if I hadn’t put a stop to that kiss. Would we have ended up in my bed? Or foregone that idea and let him have his way with me right there on my kitchen counter? I hate to think because last night was a wake up call. That kiss proved what could happen should I lose control again and give in to my desires. No matter how tempting they may be, I can’t let that happen.

“You okay, Colorado?” Ryan asks as we head down the main strip in town. Ever since the drive-by, Walker has upped police presence in the community, increased patrols on the streets to reassure the residents of the town, despite not making a single appearance himself.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“Got anything to do with Lawson?”

My head snaps around to face him. “What?”

“The kid. Kit ,” he clarifies.

“Oh, right. Yeah. I’m thinking of visiting him later actually.”

“That’s a good idea.”

My stomach flutters when I see a motorcycle parked up on the other side of the street outside the tattoo shop, and as the door swings open, I see a flash of leather.

Please be him… Please be Myles…

But to my disappointment, it’s not him and that flutter in my belly dies.

What the hell has gotten into me?

“So uh… I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab something to eat one evening after work?” Ryan’s voice pulls me back.

“Uh… Like a date?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Yeah, I guess. If you want?”

Oh God…

“Ryan, I… I’m flattered, really . But I don’t think that’s a good idea. We work together, we see each other every day. What happens if it ends badly? It would ruin our work relationship, not to mention our friendship.”

“Yeah, no. Of course. No problem.” I can tell he’s trying not to let the sting of rejection show on his face as he begins to walk ahead of me.

“Hey, Ryan,” I call after him, reaching for his arm. “You know since I got here, after all the vulgar chat-up lines and sexual innuendos that have been thrown my way, you’re the first person to ask me out on a date respectfully, like a gentleman should. So, thank you for that.”

He forces a smile. “Sure, no problem.”

I arrive at the hospital twenty minutes after my shift ends and head to the front desk. Not being direct family, I figured it a good idea to stay in my uniform.

“Hi, I’m looking for Kit Lawson’s room,” I say to the older lady on the reception desk.

“Let me check.” She taps away on her computer. “It’s down the corridor, through the double doors and it’s the last door on the right.”

“Thank you.”

Following her directions, I make it to Kit’s room easily. A guy I don’t recognise wearing a Lawless kutte stands from the chair outside the room when he sees me approach. “What the fuck do you want?”

His blonde hair is cropped short, almost a military style buzz cut. He’s at least six foot, medium build and not an inch of skin untouched by ink.

I can already tell I’m not gonna like this guy. Not one bit.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure Mr…?”

“Vaughn Jessop.”

My eyes dip to the patch on his chest that reads ‘Sergeant-at-Arms’ .

So this guy is the man on Myles’ right hand?

“Well, Mr. Jessop. I’ve been invited here by Kit, so if you’ll excuse me.”

He steps to the side, blocking my path. “We don’t need your kind around here, bitch . That uniform means shit to me.”

“I suggest you watch how you speak to me,” I warn, squaring up to him. This prick doesn’t scare me.

“Or what?”

A door behind Vaughn opens and my stomach does a little flip when I see Myles step out in my periphery.

“Venom, stand down.” I don’t miss the warning tone in Myles’ voice.

Vaughn pins me with his eyes, but I hold my ground as we stand off.

“Vaughn. Back. Off ,” Myles repeats slower. After a long minute, Vaughn takes a step back, his nostrils flaring.

“Wow, Myles. You have your lapdog trained well. Can he fetch and roll over on command too?”

I can’t help but flash Vaughn a smirk that only makes him seethe even more before I brush past him with my head held high.

As I approach, the corner of Myles’ mouth is curved up into a smile, almost as if he’s impressed.

“Allie!” Kit’s smile is ear to ear when I step into the room. He’s propped up on his hospital bed, the covers draped over his legs up to his waist. His shoulder is strapped up well and he seems surprisingly brighter than I anticipated.

“Hey there, dude.” I round the bed and perch on the edge of the chair beside him. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good, but the food here sucks ass.”

“Kit, language,” Myles reminds him.

“Dad, it’s not even that bad,” he complains. “Uncle Jett says way worse.”

“That’s because Uncle Jett has a potty mouth and is a terrible influence on you.”

“Uncle Jett’s cool.”

I find myself smiling at their interaction, and by the look on Myles’ face, the adoration he has for his son is clear, their father and son bond is heart-warming to witness.

“Hopefully you can go home in a few days, back in your own house, your own bed…”

“And my Xbox,” Kit adds.

Myles tuts behind me and I smile.

“I’m really sorry about your friend, Kit. As bad as it sounds, when everything happened, he wasn’t moving, but you were. You were my priority at that moment.”

“I get it.” He shrugs.

“What was his name?”

“Max,” he replies sadly. “He was being picked on in fourth grade by a boy older than us so I punched him. That’s when Max started being my friend.”

“And what a good friend you were to him. He was lucky to have you in his life, Kit.”

“I wanna be a police officer just like you when I grow up.”

“I’m sure your dad’s thrilled to hear that .” I sneak a glance at Myles where he’s leaning up against the wall with his thick, tattooed arms folded across his chest.

“Whatever he decides to do with his life, I know he’ll be amazing.”

Wow . That is not the answer I expected to hear.

“I wanna go out and catch the bad guys,” Kit continues.

“Believe me, as rewarding as this job is and as much as I love it, we don’t always catch the bad guys. A lot of the time they go free.”

“That’s stupid.” Kit scrunches up his nose. “What about the guys who shot at me? You gonna catch them?”

“I’m going to do everything I can to find them, I promise.” I reach forward and cover his hand with mine. “I uh, I brought you something. Now, I know you’re probably too old and you’ll think it’s silly, but I’m going to give this to you anyway.” I pull out my toy lion. “My dad gave me this when I was little. He told me that whenever I was scared or sick or needed a little extra courage, to keep this close. And you know what happened when I did? I didn’t feel so scared anymore. I figured you need it more than I do right now and thought you might like to borrow it until you’re better, then you can give it back to me when you no longer need it.”

I hand him the plush lion and he studies it for a second before lifting his eyes back to me that are now glistening with tears.

His chin wobbles. “Thanks, Allie. Thank you for saving me.”

A tear of my own slips down my cheek. I can’t stop it from falling. “You don’t have to thank me, Kit. I’d do the same a thousand times over.”

I rise from the chair and lean over the bed, embracing him in a hug which only makes him cry harder. He wraps his good arm around me as I hold him and my heart swells.

I sneak a glance over my shoulder. Myles is watching us with an unreadable expression. His jaw is taut but his eyes are surprisingly soft and I can’t decide if he’s touched by what he’s seeing or if it pains him for some reason.

“I should probably get going,” I announce, clearing my throat as I untangle myself from Kit.

Kit pouts. “You really have to?”

“I’ll come by and visit soon, as long as it’s okay with your dad?”

Myles nods. “Of course. Anytime.”

“Take care of yourself okay? I’ll see you soon, bud.”

Vaughn is no longer in the corridor when Myles follows me out of the room.

“Do the cops have any leads on who did this?” he asks.

“I caught the license plate of the van but it turned up nothing. No one saw anything, or if they did, they’re not talking.”

“Fuck,” he breathes out.

“Do you have any idea on who did this?”

He hesitates for a second before answering, “No.”

I can tell by the look on his face he knows more than he’s letting on. “Listen, thanks for coming,” he says, changing the subject. “Seeing you has really lifted Kit’s spirits.”

“I’m glad. He’s a great kid. You’re lucky to have him, and he you.”

He smiles. “He’s my life.”

“And his mom?” I blurt out before I can stop it. “Sorry, don’t answer that, it’s none of my business.”

He clenches his jaw, choosing his words carefully. “The less said about her the better.”

I nod, understanding it’s a touchy subject so I let it drop. “Look, Myles, about what happened last night… You understand that it can’t ever happen again, right?”

“Thought you’d say that.” I don’t miss the flicker of disappointment on his face.

“I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did and a part of me is glad that it happened, but that other part of me is telling me that I should know better, which is why it can’t be repeated, and I’d really like it if we could forget it ever happened.”

“You might be able to forget a kiss like that, but I sure fucking can’t, and quite frankly I think it’s bullshit.”

I frown. “What is?”

“ This . You pretending like it was nothing, convincing yourself that you feel nothing, but of course, if that was true, you wouldn’t have even brought it up.”

“Now, just w—”

“I don’t like liars, Allie,” he says, cutting me off. “Ain’t got time for it, so play it to me straight.” He closes in, backing me up against the wall until I’m trapped. “Do you really want to go on like that kiss never happened? Do you? ”

My eyes dip down to his mouth and my lips tingle with the memory of how his felt against mine.

He leans in closer, his breath tickling my face as one hand closes around mine while the other squeezes my hip. “If you don’t want this, all you have to do is say so. Otherwise…”

He presses a soft kiss to my lips, testing the waters before diving in a little deeper and I’m powerless as he drags me along with him as his kiss consumes me.

My brain is screaming at me to put an end to this madness, but my heart is telling me to do the opposite. It feels too good, he feels too good. It’s wrong but it feels so right.

My fingers graze the stubble on his face as I bring my hand up around his neck while my tongue connects with his.

There’s movement to the side of us and I pull back to find Vaughn’s eyes flicking between the two of us, not in the least bit surprised at the scene in front of him.

“I should go,” I announce, pushing off the wall and starting down the corridor.

“Allie—” Myles calls behind me.

I stop briefly. “I’ll see you later.”

Vaughn glares at me as I walk past him and I do my best to put on a front, because in reality I’m spiralling.

What is happening to me?

I high-tail it out of the hospital like my ass is on fire and it’s not until I climb into my car that I can breath a sigh of relief.

I rest my forehead on the steering wheel, inhaling deeply through my nose and out through my mouth as I try to calm my erratic heart.

I’m losing control of my senses. I don’t know who I am or what happens to me when I’m around Myles. And the one thing that scares me the most, is that the person I am around him doesn’t scare me at all.

Not one bit.